ASIA: So, Anne, I wouldn't think that this 130lb/265 stoat-heavy fast cat would make it this far. Cheetahs aren't generally considered great fighters, right? *whispers* Unlike Kylo. #2018MMM#StoatsAsMeasurement

The top-ranked competitor still has homefield advantage, so this Urban Jungle battle takes place in Berlin, Germany. Berlin Board & Porcupine don't have a lot in common; they last shared a common ancestor ~96 mya (timetree.org) #2018MMM

Our competitors in this first battle have so far only faced off with much smaller Arthropod foes, so the Sweet 16 Round will be their first tournament tumble with large vertebrate competitors. #2018MMM

The Secretary Bird has used its lengthy gams to crush the carapace of a horseshoe crab and given the mantis shrimp the ol' one-two kick right out of the tournament (and this life). #2018MMM

Baboons are in the same primate group as rhesus macaques (Cercopithecidae). These Old World monkeys last shared a common ancestor with New World porcupines (Erethizontidae) ~90 mya (timetree.org) #2018MMM

Our combatants advanced entirely unscathed from round 1: Coyote gave up on pursuing a possum while Sewer Rat was very fortunate to have encountered a Moscow Dog that prefers human handouts to hunting #2018MMM

The tardigrade was discovered by German Pastor J.A.E. Goeze in 1773. He dubbed it a "water bear" based on the way it moves-like of a bear lumbering around. Water bear isn't the only name for the tardigrade, however. It is also known as the "moss piglet". #2018MMM

A moss piglet known by any other name would be just as indestructible. Tardigrades are "extremophiles" that withstand environments up to and including the vacuum of space. The post-apocalyptic world is one of cockroaches and tardigrades. #2018MMM

The Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is a bohemith of a lizard, the largest extant species can be up to 3m (10ft) in length and weighs in at up to 70 kg (150lb) It is listed as Vulnerable by @IUCNRedListen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dr… (Ciofi 2004) #2018MMM

Erethizon dorsatum are the 2nd largest rodents in North America (1st place goes to beavers), weighing anywhere between 5-14 kg (23-64 stoats #stoatsasmeasurement) #2018MMM

When we think porcupines, we think quills, right? Quills & spines have evolved multiple, independent times across the mammal tree of life as a defense strategy & are excellent examples of convergent #evolution (see the hedgehog battle) (animaldiversity.org/collections/sp…) #2018MMM